1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to a connector for electrically coupling integrated circuit chips, and more particularly to a lithographically manufactured connector for electrically coupling groups of contact points formed on integrated circuit chips.
2. Discussion
The computer industry has, and continues to, expend great effort on miniaturization. Integrated circuit chip technology has resulted in great advances in size reduction. It is desirable to implant the greatest possible number of electronic components on a specific amount of surface area on each integrated circuit chip.
One technique for increasing the number of electronic components in a given of surface area on a integrated circuit board is to stack a number of circuit boards or computer chips to make a three dimensional multichip module. Such a multichip array has been created by the use of a "button board,"which is a connector board having through connections or "vias." Button boards have been constructed by forming a series of holes in an electrically insulating board, placing short wires through each of these holes, and physically deforming and crushing the ends of these wires, thereby creating a rivet-shaped electrically conducting connector between a contact point on one side of the button board and another contact point on the opposite side.
In accordance with the race for miniaturization, it is desirable to form three dimensional multichip arrays with very thin integrated circuit chips and connectors, so that more integrated circuit chips may be stacked in a given volume, to enable high density connections of integrated circuit chips. Button board connectors have been constructed having a thickness as small as 10 mil, or 0.010 inches, and having adjacent conductive members being separated by a distance as small as 10 mil, or 0.010 inches. It is therefore desirable to construct a connector for connecting stacked integrated circuit chips in a multichip array which may be formed as thin as possible to increase performance.